Degenerative joint disease, more often associated with osteoarthritis, is one of the most common musculoskeletal diseases in canines. Biochemically, osteoarthritis is the loss of balance between synthesis and degradation of articular cartilage found in synovial joints. This may include inflammation that often involves the synovial membrane. The cycle of inflammation leads to further degradation of the articular surface resulting in pain and lameness. Arthritis is the most common cause of lameness in canines and the incidence has been reported to affect 20% of canines older than 1 year. Arthritis can occur as a result of abnormal loading, trauma, infection/inflammation, and cruciate ligament ruptures. Predisposing factors include age, breed, size, obesity, and genetics. Understanding how expression of cartilage metabolism related genes are altered in canine arthritis may provide useful insight for treating and/or aiding in the management of arthritic conditions.
Osteoarthritis is a chronic, degenerative joint disease that is caused by the progressive inflammation and deterioration of the cartilage, bone, and soft tissue of one or more joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation and damage to the joints. Both are chronic inflammatory conditions. Because the damage to the joints is progressive and largely irreversible, it is desirable to identify and address the inflammatory process proactively. Unfortunately, biomarker expression in blood has proven difficult to correlate with expression in tissue, making diagnosis difficult before the disease leads to severe pain and irreversible tissue damage.